Artwork copyright Susan Stewart. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Song of the Mapuche, 1990

Susan Stewart
(American | Crow Tribe of Montana, born 1953)

Location: Raisbeck Aviation High School, Tukwila

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Song of the Mapuche is part of a series of prints created by artist Susan Stewart. The series reflects her time living with the Namancuras Mapuche People of Patagonia in Argentina, South America. She notes, "I was invited to participate in a sacred ceremony of the Namancuras. I believe I was the first North American Indian to do so. This piece is an extension of my spirit; to me it is a bridge that connects past to present times… I understand that I am a people of the Americas be it North of South the traditional homelands have never ceased to be that ancestral home for us. Our spiritual ceremonies and our arts, traditional or contemporary are the way by which we will survive."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Highline School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Susan Stewart is an artist and active member of the Crow Nation, based in Montana. She is a painter, printmaker, installation artist, performance artist, video artist, arts administrator, curator, and community activist. Her focus in all of these areas is life as a contemporary Native North American.

Susan Stewart was born in Livermore, Central California, where her family was placed as part of the American Indian Relocation Act for the purpose of assimilation. She grew up in California; Spokane, Eastern Washington; and Reno, Nevada. She studied at California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Montana State University in Bozeman.